Ashes to Ashes
by Krazy Kazz
Summary: What if Meowth's first word was "Ash"? Has GOOD Meowth, normal Jessie and James, rebellious Pikachu, and naiive Ash. Rated T to be safe, future chapters will include HINTS at KRAZYSHIPPING. And yes, that's MeowthxPikachu.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: What if Meowth's first human-word was "ash"?

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Warnings: May have some hints at krazyshipping in later chapters.

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><p>There he was. In a vent. In a schoolhouse. He listened to the things the children chanted and called out, especially when the teacher wasn't in the room.<p>

He was especially intrigued in the arguments that started... and the fights.

He'd heard one of the bigger boys say to a smaller one, "Say that again, I'll beat you so hard I'll reduce you to ash!"

He heard this thrown from the older, bigger boy a lot. He began to believe this kid had an obsession with this 'ash' stuff, always saying he would reduce someone to ash. When the teacher came back, no one dared reveal to him what had transpired while he was gone.

It was during these periods when the Meowth learned his words, though he did learn words from the teacher. It was during his absence, however, that Meowth finally got his first word to come out in human-speak.

"Ash."

It had taken a while, but finally he had learned to speak like the humans, albeit with a sorta-annoying accent but hey, human-talk was human-talk.

It was after he'd finally successfully walked on his hind legs for more than ten minutes at a time that he went to find _her_._ She_ was the one he went through all this trouble for, _she_ was the reason he warped his body to accomadate both poké-walk and human-walk. All the pain he'd experienced in the process of going against his body's natural shape, it was all for _her_. All of it.

And yet... she still said no. Even went so far as to call him a freak when all he did was try to prove he was as good as any human.

That was when he turned his back on love. He walked away, brokenhearted, from the spoiled female Meowth-that Meowsie. The one who he had become more human than pokémon for... yet he still wasn't good enough for her.

He never forgot that.

* * *

><p>It was barely two months after he'd left Hollywood that he came across a kid struggling with his pokémon. The pokémon in question was a pikachu, and it didn't seem to like its trainer.<p>

Meowth couldn't blame it; the kid didn't seem to know what he was doing.

"C'mon, Pikachu!"

Meowth shook his head, muttering, "Ya can't force a pokémon ta do what it don't wanna do, kid."

Apparently, both the kid and pika heard him and turned in his direction. The kid's eyes widened. "A talking meowth?"

Meowth almost panicked. "Uh... Meowth?"

The kid and pika both walked over to him curiously. "Hey, was that you talking earlier?" the kid asked, pulling out his little pocket machine that, oddly enough, began talking.

"Meowth: Meowth withdraw their sharp claws into their paws to silently sneak about. For some reason, this Pokémon loves shiny coins that glitter with light"(Emerald version).

Meowth backed up slightly, eying the machine warily. "Yea, what's ya point?"

"That's so cool, I've never seen a talking pokemon before!" the kid laughed. "This is my pokemon, Pikachu, and I'm-"

"Ya not gonna give 'im a name?"

The kid blinked. "Um... it didn't say it wanted a name..."

Meowth frowned. "Okay, first off, the pika's a boy. Second off, ya don't speak Poké-talk, now do ya? Third of all, how would ya feel if ya motha or fatha went 'round callin' ya 'boy' all da time?"

"... Well, I didn't know, sorry," the kid apologized, glancing at his Pika. "I'm Ash, by the way. Ash Ketchum."

Meowth's eyes went slightly wide as he heard the name 'Ash' and he couldn't help but flashback to when he first spoke the human-language.

Ash was his first word.

He had always wondered what it really meant.

When the boy said "I'll reduce you to ash", did he mean he'd turn the kid into this kid, who's name was Ash? Or possibly was the boy made of ashes? Well, there was one way to find out...

"Wait, how can ya be ash? You're a human, aren't'cha?"

Ash looked at the Meowth, as did Pika, in a way that suggested Meowth should know better. "Ash is my name, silly."

"Oh, I t'ought so."

There was silence between them for a few moments before meowth suddenly said, "Ash was da foist word I learned in human-talk."

"You mean English?" Ash laughed, but the cat-poké could tell he wasn't laughing at him.

"Whateva it's called."

_"Hey, run while you can, meowth! This kid doesn't know what he's doing!"_

Meowth jumped slightly, startled, then looked at Pika. "Well, I could help wid dat!"

Ash looked confused while the Pika shook his head. "Did you understand what Pikachu said?"

"Of course I did! I am a pokémon afta all!" Meowth stated matter of factly, crossing his arms. "Now listen up, kid, dat pikachu will neva listen ta ya if ya can't train 'im properly. Now I'm gonna be nice ta ya since ya name's Ash 'nd all, so listen carefully. I'm no traina, but I know a pokémon better'n any of ya humans do!"

Neither knew it at the time, but this was the start of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

><p>After the beedrill attack, Pikachu accepted Ash as his trainer, and Ash still didn't realize Meowth was actually a wild pokémon. He figured that, since he knew how to speak and walk, he already had a trainer.<p>

He wondered why the cat was so accepting of just following him around and helping him out when he needed it. The cat actually became a much-needed translater between the pika and the human.

But one day Ash couldn't hold his curiosity any longer.

"Hey, Meowth, why haven't you returned to your trainer?"

Both pokémon looked up at this, and Pika looked curiously at Meowth and asked the same question in poké-talk.

Meowth laughed a little nervously and glanced at Ash's belt. "Uh, actually I don't got a traina." This seemed to surprise Ash, who asked why. "Well, I tend ta stay away from humans, 'cause I'm an independent pokémon. 'Sides, havin' a traina would mean poké-battles, and I can't fight very well."

"Why not?"

Meowth shook his head, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Dat's a story for anotha day, kid. Let's just say a walkin', talkin' meowth ain't natural."

"Well... why don't I become your trainer?" Ash asked, smiling and reaching for a pokéball.

"No! I'm an independent pokémon, 'nd if ya even so much as pull out a pokéball towards me, I'm leavin'!" Meowth cried out, jumping to his feet and startling the electric mouse and human boy. He forced himself to calm down a bit. "Listen, I dunno if I can trust ya, let's leave it at dat. I've seen trainas who abuse their pokémon. If ya want, ya can claim you're my traina, so I can't get caught by othas, but I don't want no ball. Havin' a pokéball not only signifies havin' a prison, but also increases da pain of abandonment."

Pika and Ash blinked, surprised. "Woah. You sure don't like pokéballs, do you?" Ash asked, laughing slightly.

"Pokémon aren't meant ta be trapped 'nd confined," Meowth stated, crossing his arms. "It makes travelin' for da traina easier, sure, but I hear it's very uncomfortable in dere. If I were ya, I wouldn't put any pokémon in dere unless absolutely necessary. Even da pikachu-who you still haven't named- don't like it, and he's a mouse-poké."

"Oh... I didn't even think of that," Ash admitted, throwing an apologizing glance to Pika.

"'nd dat's why every traina needs ta have at least one talkin' pokémon!" Meowth grinned, obviously thinking himself so high and mighty right then.

"... Hey look, shiny object," Ash stated blandly, tossing a gold coin at Meowth, whose eyes went wide and immediately pounced on it. "Works every time."

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><p>I wanted to end this first chapter on a funny note XD Anyway, Misty comes in next chappie, don't worry.<p>

Sorry if anyone's OOC. And yea, Ash seems like a ditz, but that's 'cause he is. Heh. AND YES, PIKACHU IS MALE IN HERE. I support Pika being either, but I just prefer him being male.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Chapter two! Yay!

Disclaimer and warnings in first chappie.

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><p>"Alright, kiddo, now we-"<p>

"I have a name, you know," Ash interrupted the cat, who glared slightly.

"I know, I just like callin' ya kiddo," Meowth stated matter-of-factly. "Now, to da matter at hand: catchin' ya foist pokem-hey, ain't dat the red-head ya borrowed da bike from?"

Ash and Pikachu both turned in the direction that a very ticked-looking red-head girl was coming, carrying a crispy-black bike.

"You! You and your pokemon destroyed my bike!" she cried out angrily, making all three males sweat-drop.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but I had to get them to the pokecenter," Ash apologized, Pikachu and Meowth nodding in agreement.

"Well you owe me a new bike! And I'll follow you until you pay me back for my bike!"

"Hey hey, calm down, girlie," Meowth started, crossing his arms. "Da kiddo didn't know what else ta do- he was desperate ta get his still-nameless pikachu to da pokecenter."

The girl didn't seem to process anything of what Meowth said, instead staring wide-eyed. "D-did that meowth just speak?"

"Uh, yea... I don't know how. He refuses to tell me," Ash told her, nodding. "Oh, I'm Ash, by the way. I don't think I ever introduced myself."

"Um... I'm Misty," the girl, Misty, replied, dropping the bike and going to observe Meowth, who seemed to kind of like the attention. "Is he your's?"

"Umm..." Ash and Meowth exchanged glances and Meowth just sort of shrugged. "I guess in a way. I didn't actually catch him, he just tags along by his own will."

"Aww, how cute," Misty grinned. "Instead of the trainer catching the pokemon, the pokemon caught the trainer." Ash rolled his eyes. "Why don't you give him a nickname?"

Meowth gave Misty a slightly-irritated look. "Well, seein' as ya don't nickname a pokemon who doesn't got a pokeball..."

"What he said," Ash agreed, though he evidently didn't know about this unspoken rule.

"He still needs ta name da pikachu in my opinion, though," Meowth said, giving Ash a pointed look. "Goin' 'round callin' ya pokemon by deir species ain't very lovin', if ya ask me."

Ash laughed slightly nervously. "Um, does he want a name?" he asked, looking at the pikachu in question, who had an expression that said 'I'm not getting involved.'

Meowth shrugged. "He never really mentioned it, but if I had a trainer, I wouldn't wanna be called 'Meowth' my entire life."

"Then why are you so against letting Ash give you a name?" Misty asked.

"I never said-"

"You're contradicting yourself," Misty told him.

"No I'm not, nya!" Meowth argued, turning his back to Misty. "I just don't want ta be named yet."

_"Excuses, excuses," _he heard Pikachu say. He turned to the pikachu, who had a smirk on his face. _"You just don't want someone who isn't your trainer to name you."_

"Hey! You stay outta dis, Pikachu!" Meowth exclaimed, for some reason offended by Pika's proclamation. "For ya info, I don't plan on havin' a traina!"

Pikachu just gave Meowth a knowing look.

"Hey, c'mon," Meowth started, a slight growl to his tone. "I'm a independent pokemon! And I t'ink pokemon should have a right ta choose whether ta be domestic or not."

"Well, you don't seem very wild to me," Misty pointed out. "You seem pretty domestic to me."

Meowth's face went dark. "Oh c'mon! I'm not domestic! I'm-"

Misty began scratching behind the cat-pokemon's ear, and Meowth stopped arguing and just started purring.

"... I call that domestic," Misty laughed, and Ash and Pikachu nodded in agreement. Meowth didn't seem to care; he was enjoying the attention he was receiving.

* * *

><p>The four of them sat in a cafe in Viridian City, where they'd been staying for a little while after the beedrill attack. Ahs and Misty talked to one another while Pikachu and Meowth spoke in Poke-talk.<p>

Hey, come on, Meowth isn't idiotic enough to speak human-talk in a place that could have pokemon-thieves... like Officer Jenny warned them of.

And suddenly it was as if a bomb exploded, and the quartet heard someone shout, "It's smokescreen!"

"Guys, look at da door!" Meowth cried, since no one could see exactly who was speaking. Ash, Misty, and Pikachu all looked in the direction the cat was looking. There, against the light of the outside and the smoke of the inside, were four sillhouettes. Two were human-though one with a bizzarre hairstyle- and the other two were pokemon, one like a snake and the other a floating... ball... of some sort.

And then the sillhouettes began to speak.

"Prepare for trouble..."

"Make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

People had begun panicking as the TR duo Jessie and James came forward. It seemed everyone recognized the name "Team Rocket" and many were fleeing as the smoke cleared up.

"Now hand over your valuable pokemon!" the male called as people realized all the exits were blocked off. Jessie laughed at the stupidity of people.

"Did you honestly think that you could get away? Now hand over your pokemon!"

Ash and Misty jumped to their feet and stood in front of Pikachu and Meowth.

"You'll never get Pikachu and Meowth!" Ash shouted at the duo, who turned their heads towards them. Neither looked impressed.

"We don't want your pathetic pokemon, twerp," Jessie laughed. "We're only after the most valuable!"

"Hey, who ya callin' pathetic?" Meowth shouted, much to the surprise of the TR duo. "We'll show ya pokemon thieves!"

_"What he said!" _Pikachu cried, jumping up on Ash's shoulder.

"A talking meowth? Now that is actually pretty rare," James stated.

Meowth startled Ash by jumping up on his other shoulder. "Darn straight!" Meowth shouted, exchanging a glance with Pikachu.

Meowth could talk, yea, but Pikachu was the stronger one. On his own, Meowth knew he himself would never have a chance at defeating them... but Pikachu could probably defeat them singlehandedly.

_"Hey, Meowth! Use fury swiped on them as a distraction, and I'll handle the rest!"_ Pikachu told Meowth, seeming to understand Meowth's thoughts. Meowth nodded and jumped onto the floor, landing on all fours.

He dashed across the floor and jumped into the air, ignoring Ash's cry of "Meowth!"

_'That kid's lucky Pikachu's here or else I'd be runnin' for da hills,' _Meowth thought to himself, bringing his claws down on the startled humans.

It wasn't often they themselves were attacked by a pokemon. Usually their own pokemon were.

While the duo were being distracted by the cat's claws, Pikachu started with his signature "Piiiiiikaaaaa..."

When meowth heard this, he jumped away from the duo.

"Chuuu!"

The entire place was alight with electricity as the duo were being electrocuted by one angry Pikachu.

The sprinklers came on just as Team Rocket "blasted off".

Everything was silent for a few moments, except for the sound of water sprinklers. Then...

"AGH! I hate watah! Especially WET watah!"

Ash, Misty, and Pikachu were practically dragged out by the now-wet cat.

**-Later-**

"Gee, you two made a pretty good team," Misty commented, looking at the two pokemon, who both perched themselves on Ash's shoulders.

She laughed slightly, watching Meowth desperately lick at his fur to get the water out while Pikachu watched, confused.

"Meowth, you're heavy," Ash told him.

"It's da watah," Meowth stated matter-of-factly, still licking desperately.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised you don't like water; you're a cat," Misty chuckled.

"Yea, and dose two failures weren't even worth da watah!" Meowth exclaimed, jumping to the ground. "If we see dem again, dey're gonna pay!"

"Though you know, you guys shouldn't have attacked without Ash telling you to," Misty pointed out. Pikachu looked a little guilty, but this seemed to anger Meowth.

"One, da situation was cause-worthy, 'nd two, I am a wild pokemon still! I don't gotta listen to anybody. And I won't become his little poke-pal 'til I knows I can trust him," Meowth stated, crossing his arms. Before she could reply, he changed the subject. "So where we goin' now?"

"Well, we're gonna fight the gym leader, of course!" Ash told the cat pokemon, who stared blankly. "What?"

"Um... Ash, dere's a problem wit dat plan," Meowth started before Misty could give any input. "Yous only got one pokemon right now, 'nd he's an electric type. We're in rock-kingdom. Da gym leader's gonna have rock-type pokemon. Guess who has da advantage? Da rock type. Rock types are unaffected by electric types. Ta defeat a rock type, ya need either a watah, grass, or ice type pokemon. Pikachu here won't defeat a rock-type wit just his electricity, 'nd I can't fight for yous in a real battle like dat since I'm not ya pokemon."

"Nah, Pikachu could take him down, I'm sure!" Ash stated confidently, causing his three companions to sweatdrop and Misty to go into a lengthy lecture on type-advantages and how he could severely injure his pikachu by this.

In the meantime, Meowth and Pikachu decided to converse in poke-talk.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, Jessie and James were caught in a tree. "Wow... that pikachu is really strong," James said to his partner.<p>

"I agree... perfect for the boss," Jessie agreed. "The meowth too."

The duo grinned at each other as they set their sights on the two pokemon that had defeated them.

"This is going to be interesting..."

* * *

><p>Brock shows up next chapter, obviously. After Brock comes up, it kinda ventures off the path the series takes.<p> 


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